The lady at reception does't know anything about my luggage. She calls the airport, but nobody picks up. Crap! Then I ask whether we are centrally located and if there are any points of interest around here. The lady said I should just get out of the hotel, turn right, at the end of the road turn left and then right again. In front of me I'll see a mosque with a spiral tower. I should walk towards it. No sooner said than done -. I just go out of the hotel and follow her instructions. When I see the spiral tower, I walk in its direction. I pass shops with shoes and bags and clothes, some restaurants and mobile shops. Eventually, I turn left and see before me a Souq. I walk down the street and get past many clothing stores, barbers, electronics shops, etc.. Then I turn somewhere and a smell rises to my nostrils. A spicy smell that the wind is blowing directly into my nose. The picture changes. The scenery is beautiful, colourful, traditional. I remain standing on a square in the middle and let my gaze wander. People of all colours come and go, smells and sounds coming from all sides. I want to take a picture, put my hands in my pockets and realise only now that a) I don't even have my mobile phone, b) no camera and c) the address and the name of the hotel here with me. Also no money and no papers. Only a credit card, a few tissues and the magnetic card for the hotelroom door. Superb! But I don't get into panic and move on. Now I see the tower again protrude above the roof of a building and move in its direction. I reach the mosque and go in the yard. A few people scurry past me and disappear behind different doors. Since I don't know which is the right door, I wait a little until someone comes out or goes in. When after a minute, no one appears, I look out for shoes. Most shoes are in front of two doors. I discover mens shoes in front of one of the doors. So I take off my shoes there and go inside. There are few men there, spread out in the large room. I look around and kneel down somewhere. It is pleasantly cool and quiet in here. No noise coming from outside.
After my prayer I go back outside, put on my shoes and continue my journey of discovery. I find myself in another Souq in which it smells wonderfully. Here, spices are traded. I take a deep breath. Ah, that's a treat! The spices are available for sale in huge bags and you can put with a small shovel so much in a bag as you want and need. I go further and come to a point in which there are several cafes and restaurants. Slowly it gets dark and I have to return. Back? How? Where? What is the name of the hotel again? Crap! Where to? I look around and try to remember the direction I came from. Hmm ... somehow everything looks the same. Shit! What do I do now? Where was again this spiral tower? I go through some streets and try to remember where I came from, looking simultaneously for the tower. Slowly some things start seeming quite familiar to me. At every corner, I focus and turn correctly most of the times. If my feeling tells me that I am wrong, I return and try another way. Soon, I also see the tower and go up towards it. From there, everything becomes more difficult. Then I go down a path that proves to be completely wrong. I notice it not right away, but a good 20 minutes later. Part of the way is quite right, but then I lose myself in the streets. I also don't see the tower anymore. So I go back up to a part I recognise. Then I turn to a different direction. This decision is the right one. Now I'm on my path. Several minutes later tells me my gut feeling that I am very close to the hotel. Just where is the hotel? I look at the tall buildings and suddenly comes back to me the hotel name. I go into a shop to ask, but the people there don't understand English and the name of the hotel doesn't ring a bell. But they send me to another hotel. There I ask for directions. Two times left I'm told. Indeed! I turn twice left and stand in front of my hotel. Superb! Barely in, the lady at the reception desk tells me that my luggage has arrived and is in my room waiting for me. I go to my room and there it is. Then I go for dinner. Even the dinner is free. And I must say it is delicious. Then I go back to my room and fall dead into bed..
The alarm goes off very early in the morning and it is still dark outside. Since the restaurant is not yet open, I will have breakfast at the airport. The cab comes soon and brings me and a few others to the airport.
At the airport I go to the check-in counter and am being served by a Greek lady. We chat for a while in Greek before I have to go. The crisis and unemployment have brought her to Doha. I go through the checks and directly into the lounge for breakfast. The atmosphere in here is calm, relaxed and cosy. I have breakfast in peace and sit down on a leather sofa and play around on my iPad. When I eventually lift my head to the screen, I see: Final Call for Athens. Crap! I spurt out to the gate. We are driven by bus to the airplane. Since there are more than one buses, they stop all in front of the different entrances. My bus stops at the rear. So I get to go in through the back of the plane. I show my boarding pass and the stewardess says, I have a long way ahead of me and makes a hand gesture to that direction. In the middle of the aircraft, I am asked for my card again and I hear keep going. Then I get to the curtain separating the business from the economy class. There I am stopped and looked at from head to toe and asked for my boarding card again. When the flight attendant sees my card, she gets friendlier and shows me my seat. Hardly in my seat, jumps a second stewardess out of nowhere and asks for my pass. As soon as she is gone, a steward appears and asks for my boarding card. I look around and see that a) all Business class passengers are much older than me and b) are businesslike dressed. I wear jeans again and my burgundy-coloured hooded sweatshirt from my university, University of Hull. Then it gets finally quiet. Since no one sits next to me, I spread myself out. I play a little around on the seat and sit back comfortably and look down from the window to the desert. Qatar and Saudi, two countries that are next to each other, but differ in many things. Images of yesterday afternoon shoot through my head. The women wore no veil over their faces and were sitting with their men in the restaurants, cafes and taverns and drank and ate. That does not exist in Saudi. Working women everywhere and they are even allowed to drive a car. But they wear abayas and headscarves.
The steward who is suddenly next to me and asks what I would like to eat, brings me out of my thoughts back to reality. There is a selection like in a luxury restaurant to choose from.
The five hours to Athens pass pleasantly and quickly. I get plenty to eat and drink and take photos of the desert, from the Suez Canal and some of the Greek islands.
As I stand at the baggage conveyor belt later on, I ask myself: was it all just a dream or reality?
Outside, I fall into the arms of my dear.
This blog is available on Amazon:
Theo of Arabia ebook
Theo of Arabia paperback
Fields in the desert
Suez
Greek islands
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